Well, I kept hearing all sorts of disappointing statements about Reincarnation. Needless to say, I was a bit reluctant to see it in my local theater. But then I remembered that I have never seen a Japanese film on the big screen, so I went mainly for the experience. Wasn't I surprised when I realized after seeing the film that it's pretty damn good.
I'll keep things vague, so as to not spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet. I admire originality, and while Reincarnation is no Marebito or Tetsuo on the originality scale, it definitely scores high. Sure, there are a lot of horror elements used in this film that have been seen before, but they are not used in quite the same manner. Perhaps the most impressive thing is that the concept of reincarnation itself is used to bridge and interconnect all of these elements in a new and satisfying way. It's like a chef who takes a bunch of foods that you've eaten before, but uses a special ingredient to shake things up. In short, Takashi Shimizu works well as a movie chef here.
Some have complained that the ending is predictable, but this is a misleading assertion. There are essentially three twists that occur back to back to back. Surely, most viewers will probably be able to guess the first twist, but there is very little probability that they will be able to guess either of the other two.
Of course, you can be sure that incompetent, tasteless reviewers will criticize this film for lacking "integrity and weight" (as well as entertainment value), only to then recommend completely weightless trash like Friday the 13th in the same breath. For the rest of us who actually enjoy a quality horror film, we'll stick with our Japanese gems. Other reviewers will claim that all Japanese horror movies are the same, but a skim of my user profile will convincingly prove their ignorance.
The pacing of Reincarnation is very similar to Audition (although not nearly as violent in its culmination). The first 70 minutes is basically a slow paced set-up for the finale, with some dashes of formulaic scares. Fortunately, the final 25 minute finale is one of the most interesting, original, and compelling horror sequences in recent memory. So for those planning to see it, please be patient, and rest assured, the crap will hit the fan . . . hard. Quite frankly, the final series of events in Reincarnation had this viewer giggling with amazement. Just when I thought I had the next scene figured out, Takashi Shimizu would pull the rug from beneath my feet and turn the film in another direction.
I think that the reasoning behind some negative reactions to Reincarnation is the fact that it was marketed ineffectively. There is nothing extremely violent in this film, yet it was packaged within a Horrorfest of films that were allegedly very violent. I'm sure that the gorehounds entered the theater looking for lots of guts and blood, in which case they must have been greatly disappointed. In addition, no one knew the film was in subtitles. I watch East Asian films almost exclusively, so I prefer subtitles to dubbings any day of the week, but I must say that the audible groans and moans from the audience when the subtitles appeared was remarkably entertaining. Apparently, reading a few lines on a screen is too difficult for American audiences. :)
All in all, this was a classic horror film that scores relatively high in originality. I highly recommend it for those who can appreciate a slow-buring, plot-driven horror film with a fantastic finale.
